Visiting Russia can be an incredible experience. Not only does this county have beautiful cities and landscapes, it also has a lot of museums, open air museums, and old fascinating churches.
1. Trans-Siberian Railway
This particular railway is connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. During the Russo-Japanese War that took place between 1904 and 1905, the Trans-Siberian Railway was seen considered as being one of the reasons why Russia lost the war in the first place. Back then track was a single track and could only allow train travel in one direction.
2. Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus was originally named Strobilus, Latin for ‘pine cone’, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Russia. The outhouse is both surrounded and covered in ice. Although the mountain has many routes, the Normal Route is considered to be the safest as well as the fastest one. The assistance of a guide is mandatory as tourists often get lost using other routes.
3. Valley of Geysers
The Valley of Geysers is considered the second largest concentration of geysers in the entire world. Located on a field on Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, the site is popular enough to attract over 3, 000 annually.
4. Kizhi Island
This particular site is actually an island that has an open air museum. How come? Well, because of the low temperatures the preservation of the wood is made naturally. The museum is the first one of the first in Russia dating since 1951. At this moment it contains 87 wooden constructions, the most popular being the Kizhi Pogost. The first mentioning of churches on the island is dated to the year 1563. The Kizhi churches were built on stones, without a deep foundation as normal churches have today.
5. St Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod
Vladimir of Novgorod build the cathedral between 1045 and 1050. The building now reaches 38-metres in hight and is made partially from stone. During the Soviet period, the St Sophia Cathedral was transformed into a museum and it was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1991. Some changes have been made since the initial design, as the cathedral was restored after a fire in 1150 and it is believed that the cupolas then aquired the helmet-like shape.
6. Lake Baikal
The Lake Baikal is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world. Its surface covers 636 km and if depth reaches 744 m. The beauty of the lake is given by the fantastic view, especially in winter when the lake is frozen. The lake also contains roughly 20% of the world’s unfrozen surface fresh water.
7. Suzdal
The city functioned for centuries as the capital of several Russian principalities. The city status was grated back in 1777 and in the city you can visit monuments like the Wooden Church of Saint Nicholas, St John the Baptist Church, The Saint Alexander Convent and the Convent of Intercession.
8. Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin is a major tourist attraction because it consists of a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow. The site overlooks the Moskva River (to the South), Saint Basil’s Cathedral and Red Square (to the East) and the Alexander Garden (to the West). It is particular famous because of it’s of kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes five palaces, four cathedrals and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers.
9. Hermitage Museum
The Hermitage Museum consists of six buildings, from which four of them, the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage and New Hermitage, are partially open to the public. The museum is one of the both largest as well as oldest museums in the entire world. It was founded back in the year 1764 by Catherine the Great. Among it’ s galleries it contains an Egyptian Collection, Classical Antiquities feature Greek artifacts from the 3rd millennium as well as Italian Renaissance Italian and Spanish fine art.
10. Saint Basil’s Cathedral
Last but not least on our list is the famous Saint Basil’s Cathedral. The building is particularly unique, being shaped as a flame rising towards the sky. The site also marks the geometric center of Moscow. If you do manage to visit the cathedral, the design will certainly blow you away as well as the wall paintings.
Leave a Reply